


And so this is Christmas

by imadreamysoul



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Canon, Christmas, Christmas in the Bunker, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9069208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imadreamysoul/pseuds/imadreamysoul
Summary: In despite of Dean's disapproval, Charlie, Castiel and Sam organise Christmas in the Bunker.Action takes place after events in 10x18.





	

“Charlie, no.” Dean rolled his eyes and disagreed a third time in a row.

“But Dean!” Charlie exclaimed again, completely undeterred. “It’s gonna be fun!”

“We have no time for crap like this.” He cut her off and sighed, rubbing his face as his tone became a bit harsh.

“Yeah, right, you’re so busy sitting on your grumpy ass.” She crossed arms and furrowed her brows.

“Charles, we’ve got a work to focus on. Cases. Helping people. And we never really did this before, so why now?” Dean whined and tried to calm down his tone, then dug back into his laptop, ignoring the redhead as a sign that the conversation was over.

  
Dean was right, they’d never actually celebrated Christmas before. They’d only exchanged small gifts and drank eggnog between hunts, that’s it. But this time circumstances were different. Sam and Dean weren’t alone anymore. They had a so called home - bunker where they lived with Cas and Charlie. Everything felt more...homely, domestic. They didn’t even complain much when Charlie started to clean and rearrange the place in her free time (which she had a lot of because the brothers didn’t let her to join them during hunting) with a little help from Cas since he had his grace back. They created a small, very dysfunctional family but it worked for them. That’s why Charlie persisted so much the whole December.

  
As she had been ignored, she poked her tongue out at Dean and moved to talk to Sam instead, who watched the whole conversation from the other side of the room, smiling a little and appreciating Charlie’s efforts.  

“Come on, tell him it’s a good idea!” She pleaded, flopping on a chair beside Sam.

“Well… Dean may be right...” Sam said hesitantly, loud enough for Dean to hear his words, then lowered his voice. ”We’re still looking for the cure...“

Charlie sighed. “I know, Sam. But it’s only one day! The world won’t end in one-... Okay, it may actually end in one day but that’s not the point! You should cheer up, be happy sometimes. At least for one day.”

Sam watched between the girl and his brother, thinking for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m sorry Charlie, I’m fine with or without it but I can’t do anything to change his mind...” He smiled slightly as he reached to his jacket’s pocket and pulled out his credit card, subtly handing it to Charlie with a wink.

 

That’s how Charlie ended up in a shopping mall with a very confused angel by her side, while Sam promised to keep his brother busy enough not to get suspicious of their disappearance. “Why are we here? We should be looking for the Mark’s cure, Charlie...” Castiel complained softly, looking around the huge mall probably as lost and confused as he could possibly be.

“I know, Cas! But we’re gonna prepare the bunker and our boys for a Christmas day!” She chirped excitedly and beamed, pushing a cart in angel’s hands and tugging him between the store’s aisles.

“Charlie, I don’t think it’s the right time to do this... We really have to help-” Cas complained some more, trying to explain how worried he was about Dean but Charlie quickly cut him off in a mid-sentence.

“-help Dean, I knooow!” Charlie moaned and rolled her eyes. “Look, this is really gonna help. Think for a minute, hunting doesn’t help him at all, pretty much opposite, right? He needs to rest, relax, spend time away from murdering and violence and all that crap. Instead, he can have a nice day, with a nice dinner, in a warm, nice smelling, decorated house, with his nice family around him. He’s gonna feel five thousand times better, even if he doesn’t believe it himself. Let’s make him a surprise, trust me!”

  
Castiel explored the idea thoroughly in his head, eventually agreeing with Charlie, yet still looking unsure of the effects. Soon after though, with more and more Christmas stuff in the cart (which purpose Charlie explained to the confused man) excitation also hit the angel.

They ended up buying many Christmas Tree ornaments, that Charlie decided should be all gold, red and silver, such as balls, stars, snowflakes, candy canes, and warm white lights. Charlie also grabbed a beautiful angel as a tree topper, which made her laugh but she decided to explain that to Cas later, leaving him raddled even more. In the cart, there were also few wintry pine pre-lit garlands, decorated in the same colours; candles and few Christmas centerpieces. Charlie also requested to buy four Christmas stockings instead of wrapping presents in a paper and bags so Cas picked the biggest four with Santas and reindeers patterns. The last thing they picked was a real, freshly cut, around 5.5’ big Christmas Tree.

 

After Charlie paid for everything, she and Cas carried all the bags and the tree to the car. They put the bags in a trunk and placed the tree safely on the hood. Charlie grinned proudly when they were done. “Great… Now we’re gonna pick some presents!”

  
  
It was getting dark when they arrived back at the bunker. Cas parked the car in the garage, glad that nobody was waiting for them in there.

Charlie glanced at her watch. “Alrighty… It’s only 7pm so we have to wait till Dean goes to sleep so we can decorate the house… Let’s hide the tree somewhere and pick some food for tomorrow’s dinner!” She grinned brightly and hopped out of the car.

Cas frowned slightly as he followed Charlie out and untied the Christmas Tree from the car. “I’m afraid I don’t really know anything about Christmas food...”

“Yeah, you’re a great partner in crime.” Charlie sighed dramatically and rolled eyes, smiling fondly. “I’m glad for your help anyway… Guess who will hang all those stuff! ” She grinned and shoved Castiel gently on her way back to the bunker and into her room.

  
When the tree was safely hidden, Cas joined Charlie in her bedroom.

“About the food! You’ll have to go pick it up tomorrow afternoon... It’s not like we can order it to be delivered to...the bunker.” Charlie attacked him the moment he opened the door.

Cas nodded slowly and looked over her shoulder, judging by the pictures what could or couldn’t taste good. “Okay...these look good. How about some more of...this?”

Charlie chuckled and nodded, adding more food to the cart and ordering. “Duh! Course. Okay...so now we wait, decorate and sleep. In the morning, let’s pray Dean won’t get mad. Heeey... You could put him into a little bit deeper sleep than usual, couldn’t you? That’s so we won’t get caught in the middle of the night! Oh gosh...this sounded bad...”

Castiel frowned at the thought, lightly tilting his head. “Well, I do wish not to interfere in Dean’s consciousness… But maybe he should sleep a little bit deeper than usual... For his own good.”

  
  
Few hours later, they met in the warroom. With Dean sleeping like a baby and all the decor ready, they got to work. When Charlie asked Castiel to put the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, Sam joined them with a grin. “You two rowdies... How can I help?”

“Samuel! You just gave me a heart attack...” Charlie jumped slightly, taking a deep breath. “Well, Cas and I, we’re gonna decorate the tree first so you can hang the garlands around this room and maybe some in the library and kitchen?” She asked, unpacking all the ornaments and handing them to Cas. Sam nodded and got to work as well.

  
The work went pretty fast, around two hours later the bunker looked nothing like it used to. With the huge three in the heart of the building, shining bright enough to light up all the room, and the decorations on the walls, the place looked and felt almost like real home. The garlands were hang above the doorframes and on balustrades, bookshelves and kitchen unit. Wherever they looked, they could see the combination of red, gold and silver that made the cold and naked walls look cordial and full of life. The white and yellow lights gave them the feeling of warmth and sense of belonging.

When they finished, they gathered near the tree and looked over it. The only missing thing was the tree topper. Charlie picked up the silver angel and grinned smugly. “Cas... We need to put an angel on top of the tree.”

Cas turned to Charlie with a frown. “But... I won’t possibly fit in there... Not mentioning I’d look ridiculous. Is this a tradition?”

Sam and Charlie let out a light laugh at the angel’s reaction. Charlie pointed at the topper and winked at Cas when she handed it to Sam to put in the right place. “Here we go. I think this looks better indeed.” He grinned as he did so.

Cas rolled his eyes, not able to hide a small smile. He looked down as Charlie took his hand and put a few mistletoe twigs in it. “Take this. You should hang it over Dean’s head” She winked and giggled along with Sam, leaving the angel confused once more.

“Okay soo... Now, bring a couch, sofas, coffee table and TV in here, and we can go to beds.” Charlie pointed at the opposite corner of the room, ordering to bring all the things so they all could gather around the tree after dinner, and the boys did as she said.

  
After that, they cleaned around the place and went to catch up on sleep.  
  
As everyone worked almost half of the night, they weren’t awake before noon.

 

Dean was the first to wake up, instantly feeling that something’s not right. First of all, he felt unusually rested, better than in months. Then, he noticed the time and quickly got up with a frown on his face, knowing someone had to have a hand in this. He put on his favourite dead guy’s robe over his shirt and shorts and walked out of his bedroom. Another weird thing, the bunker was completely silent, which was very odd at noon. The closer he was to the main part of the bunker, the more he could smell spruce and pine’s aroma all over the place.

Firstly, he got to the kitchen. He rolled his eyes noticing the garlands and walked straight to perk a coffee, which was already made - strong, hot and waiting for him. “Thanks Cas...” He whispered, knowing the angel used to make him coffee since he found out how bad Dean slept. He closed eyes and hummed as he took a sip of the drink, melting internally at the taste and smell of it. He looked around the room and smiled lightly, seeing Charlie did what she wanted anyway. Thinking that’s all she did he took his mug and started walking towards the warroom.

When he reached it, he froze in his spot. Slowly he eyed every single decoration, not able to hide and lie to himself that he didn’t like the view. It was truly beautiful, something Dean had always wanted for them but never been brave enough to have, convinced that after all that happened in their lives, they were not allowed have that piece of normality. Slowly he moved to the couch and sat on it, his eyes wide and watery, chest fulfilled with warmth and all possible positive emotions. In that moment, he forgot about everything. About the Mark of Cain, about being a demon, about hunting and saving people. He was right there where he was supposed to be. He laughed lightly noticing the colorful stockings with their names on them. “Thank god I bought gifts...” He mumbled to himself before Charlie hesitantly walked in the room, trying to hide herself behind her mug of tea.

“Please, don’t be mad...” She whispered but couldn’t help a little smile seeing Dean opening his arms for her.  

“C’mere.” He pulled her into a soft hug when she sat beside Dean. “Merry Christmas, kid. It looks amazing.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, old man. But wait with the compliments, you gotta see the best part.” She grinned mischievously.

Dean furrowed his frown as he looked down at her. “What? That’s not everything? And wait... Where’s Sam and Cas?”

“Sam in the mall. Cas in some Robert’s diner. No, don’t ask. You’ll see!” She chuckled brightly, proud of herself.

“Alright I guess? Can I do anything?” Dean asked, knowing everyone had to put a lot of work in all preparations.

Charlie quickly shook her head. “Nope. You just sit and be happy.”

  
And that’s what he did. They spent a long while on the couch, chatting, watching cartoons and sipping their drinks.

  
Sam came back first. He walked in the bunker, holding few bags in hand.

“Hey guys! Merry Christmas, huh?” He greeted the others, visibly cheerful. “I’m glad to see the decorations are still in place.” He hid the bags behind his back. “So... I’ll go to my bedroom to change and stuff... I’ll need these.” He quickly grabbed the three stockings and disappeared, humming carols under his breath.

Dean and Charlie exchanged looks, Charlie laughing, Dean surprised but amused.

  
Some time later Cas came back as well. He carefully carried many bags in hands, deeply focused not to destroy anything. He lightened up a little when he noticed Dean and Charlie.

“Hello, Dean...Charlie.” He nodded at them softly, smiling as they greeted him.

Charlie quickly got up and rushed over to the angel, checking the bags and picking some. “Let’s take them to the kitchen.”

Dean got up as well and followed them. “Hey... What’s the smell? Oh my god... It’s amazing.”

“I told you to wait for it.” Charlie grinned and they put all the bags on a counter, unpacking them and putting everything on plates.

 

In the bags Cas brought a huge roast turkey and beef, gravy and mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and salad. When Charlie turned to check on the desserts, she saw Dean with most of them already unpacked, widening eyes seeing the amount of it. Especially that in front of him, next to a plum pudding laid at least five different types of pie, such as pumpkin pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie and little mince pies.  
“Charlie... I-”

“Don’t look at me, Cas insisted to take them all. For you, of course.” She grinned and winked.

Dean turned to Cas and to everyone's surprise he took his face, smashing his lips against the other man's cheek. “I love you, man. This is the best day of my life.” He grinned brightly, a smile that nobody saw in months spreading across the hunter’s face.

Cas blushed and returned the smile hesitantly, slightly startled. “You...are very welcome, Dean.”

Charlie watched the scene with a quiet ‘aww’ and slapped Dean’s hand when he reached for the pie. “Naah, dinner first, desserts later. Set up a table! Here, put this on first.” She handed Dean a new, red tablecloth.

  
The boys nodded immediately and moved to work, exchanging small and fondle smiles doing so. When the table with the map of the world was covered with the red cloth, they grabbed glasses, plates, cutlery and napkins to set them all in their correct places, two sets of crockery for each side of the table. Soon after Sam joined them, hanging the stockings back on the wall and putting on the table two bottles of red wine.

In the end, the red clothed table looked glamorous. In the centre of it there was a centrepiece, made of pine wreath with a red candles in the middle and silver and gold balls around it along with little berry stems. To the contrast, all the tableware set were white, with silver cutlery and white and red napkins.

  
In the meantime they all hid gifts in the stockings. Charlie also lit some more candles all over the place and turned on a very old looking radio, putting on some cassette tape.

“Where did you find this?” Dean furrowed his brow and smiled as he heard Christmas songs coming out of the radio.

“You had it dusty in the basement. And the cassette... That was my parent’s favourite.” She smiled sadly and let Dean to pull her into a bear hug.

  
  
As they sat down, they all smiled at each other. They looked, acted and felt like a real family.

“I’m very happy I managed to gather all of you in here... Alright, eat up!” Charlie said softly and smiled, watching all of them for a moment before she started eating too.

The dinner went by fast in a happy and warm atmosphere. All of them, even Cas, tasted all the food, chatted with each other, sharing smiles, wishes and dreams.

   
When they couldn’t eat much more (“Charles... We won’t finish that till New Year’s Eve”) they all moved to sit on a couch. Charlie made sure that the coffee table was full of pie, cookies and candy but also fruits. She didn’t forget about eggnog as well.

“Okay... Can we have the gifts now?” Dean asked, looking like an excited and impatient child. He got up as they all nodded and handed everyone their own stockings, quickly pulling things out of them.

  
Charlie ended up buying a Christmas sweater for everyone and made the men put them on immediately (“Yes, Cas. You too, take off that fancy suit of yours and put on my Rudolph! Don’t laugh Dean, you’ve got one with Olaf! Why is Sam the only one happy with his Santa sweater?”)

  
Dean bought Cas a new, bluest blue tie, not letting anyone to tell him that he missed the old one (“It brings out his eyes.”). Sam got a deluxe edition of Game of Thrones book (“Will you stop talking about this now?”) and Charlie got an amazing, collector's edition of Harry Potter book (“I saw kids fighting for this at the mall.”)

  
Sam picked the same lead and he gifted Charlie with a beautiful Gryffindor scarf and a winter cloak (“You googled it way too often.”) Dean got an exclusive version of his favourite Led Zeppelin album (“You're a total fanboy.”). Sam gifted Cas with an iPod with few playlists made for him (“So you don't have to always listen what Dean tells you.”)

  
Cas though, he prefered to make the gifts himself, unknowingly giving them an emotional meaning. He made a dreamcatcher for Dean, with a little dose of his grace implied in a little vial placed in the centre of it and a few black feathers hanging off the round part (“No, Dean. Of course this isn’t the grace! Not my feathers!”). For Charlie, he made a beautiful bracelet out of silver chain and a little blue rock with ‘CC’ letters carved in it (“Because I remembered you talking about best friends bracelets.”). Sam got an elegant, handmade journal made out of leather (“I saw you making many notes on your phone.”)

  
When all of them had their gifts, they drank some eggnog and watched Christmas movies on the TV. Cas and Dean took the whole couch and Sam and Charlie sat next to them on the floor on pillows.

 

As it got late, after all the wine and eggnog Dean started feeling sleepy (“I’m not drunk alright?”). Without thinking too much he shifted on the couch and laid down. As he did so, his head landed on Castiel’s lap. The angel looked surprised but smiled softly at the hunter, noticing a difference in Dean's behaviour and mood. He grabbed a pillow and put it under Dean’s head. He kept watching the movie, his hands mindlessly stroking Dean’s hair and massaging his scalp, getting a small, thankful purrs out of the hunter. Suddenly Cas reminded himself what Charlie told him and he pulled out the mistletoe from his pocket. Looking unsure he held it over Dean’s head. Hearing Charlie and Sam’s snorts and giggles Dean rolled over and looked up at Cas. Seeing his confused face he laughed lightly. “Whatcha doin’ there?”

Cas shrugged. “Charlie told me to do that... I’m not sure what for.”

“Well, if two people are standing under a mistletoe... Huh, they pretty much have to kiss.” Dean chuckled as he explained.

Castiel’s eyes widened and he blushed deeply. “Oh... I did not know that... I apologise, Dean. I mean... It doesn’t mean I don’t want that I just... That’s not what I meant...” The angel rambled and Dean lifted himself on his elbows.

“Hey, it’s alright, take a breath. I think they just pranked you a bit...” Dean smiled softly, flushing a bit as well.

Castiel nodded slowly, squinting a little. “Well...but since it’s a tradition...”

Dean chuckled and blushed as deep as Cas did. “We should respect the tradition.”

Castiel slowly mulled over Dean’s words, his face lighting up as he realised what Dean meant. He leaned slowly down the same moment Dean leaned up and their lips met in the halfway. The kiss (more like a peck) was shy and light but also sweet and warm. They stayed like this for few seconds, not even pulling away hearing noises made by the others in the background. Eventually they broke apart slightly to be able to look at each other, both their faces glowing red.

Dean spoke up first quietly. “For many more...“

Cas smiled smally, nodding. “For many more, Dean.”

 

The rest of the evening they spent on watching Christmas movies, drinking and eating snacks.

Dean didn’t move away from Castiel’s lap, for the first time in months, maybe years, feeling like he belonged somewhere, like it was his own happy place, like there was still hope for him, wrapped in the warmth of the house, family and the atmosphere they created, and in the warmth of the angel’s arms, ready to protect him and to give him all he really, deep down needed.

He slowly started drifting off, listening to the John Lennon’s voice coming out of the radio.

 

_“And so this is Christmas_

_And what have we done_

_Another year over_

_A new one just begun_

_And so happy Christmas_

_We hope you have fun_

_The near and the dear one_

_The old and the young_

_  
_ _A very Merry Christmas_

_And a happy new year_

_Let's hope it's a good one_

_Without any fear_

 

_War is over, if you want it_

_War is over now_

_Happy Christmas”_


End file.
